Veteran Music Publisher Howard S. Richmond Passes Away at 94

Veteran music publisher Howard S. Richmond, universally known as Howie, passed away on May 20, 2012 at his Rancho Mirage, California home. He was 94. In 1949, he established Cromwell Music, the firm that eventually was restructured to become The Richmond Organization (TRO), one of the world's most celebrated independent music publishers. Among the ASCAP musical gems published by TRO are "Fly Me to the Moon" (Bart Howard), "I Believe" (Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl & Al Stillman), "Those Were the Days" (Gene Raskin) and "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher & Keith Reid). Joining with fellow music publisher Abe Olman and songwriting great Johnny Mercer, Richmond co-founded the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1969.

ASCAP President & Chairman Paul Williams had this to say about Richmond: "ASCAP mourns the passing of Howie Richmond, a true music publishing great. With more than six decades of leadership in the music industry, his publishing contributions were many and varied - from Folk to Musical Theater to Jazz and Rock. Over 40 years ago, Howie saw the need to spotlight the important role and legacy of songwriters and joined Johnny Mercer and Abe Olman in founding the Songwriters Hall of Fame - for that, all songwriters owe him a great debt."